Lee Valley

[Handplanesandmore]

I have had great experience with Lee Valley, but I did not feel any slamming in your post. If you got any such feeling because of any posts here, shame on them, not on yourself. Any company can fail in a customer transaction (in your case, not meeting your immediate needs), and Lee Valley won't be an exception just because it is one of the very best out there.

Never seen a negative comment about Lee Valley?

I have seen complaints about Lee Valley at another forum, and Rob dealt with them up front. That is what that matters.

Simon

[Tapper]

I have had great experience with Lee Valley, but I did not feel any slamming in your post. If you got any such feeling because of any posts here, shame on them, not on yourself. Any company can fail in a customer transaction (in your case, not meeting your immediate needs), and Lee Valley won't be an exception just because it is one of the very best out there.

Never seen a negative comment about Lee Valley?

I have seen complaints about Lee Valley at another forum, and Rob dealt with them up front. That is what that matters.

Simon

Somehow, I hardly think any shame is or was in order. It's pretty obvious that Lee Valley and Rob Lee has strong support here, and for good reason, i.e. the support and respect has been earned. I could cite more than one time they/he has gone above and beyond to deliver great customer service. Anyone has the option to buy from whomever they choose. 

Doug

[Handplanesandmore]

Somehow, I hardly think any shame is or was in order. 

Doug

I was pretty clear: there was no shame on anyone unless someone was trying to say the OP was slamming Lee Valley. He was not, by sharing his experience. The OP agrees Lee Valley is a great vendor to do business with, but what is wrong of him telling us that what he wanted was out of stock? I went to the web site and indeed the items he quoted were not available. He wasn't making up something.

When someone asked (here or at another forum?) why the Veritas plane (a low angle jack or a smooth?) he wanted to buy was not available for months and months, no one said he was slamming. Rob responded by sharing some production issues his company was dealing with. Other potential buyers would not have known about the situation if that poster had not shared his frustration.

The OP's post has nothing to do with slamming or with not respecting any particular vendor. Remember this is a forum, not a personal blog, and as a member he has the same privilege as any one of us to voice his experience. Anyone who doesn't like what he posted has the option to check out other threads. There is no need to take offense with his sharing.

Simon

[BloomingtonMike]

Its just after a free shipping weekend. Lots of stuff is out of stock.

[Handplanesandmore]

I don't know if the OP's experience was a result of the free shipping event or not. Only Lee Valley could answer that. In previous free shipping events, I got everything I wanted and was not affected.

But if indeed free shipping would result in certain products going out of stock, the OP's post was something Lee Valley would love to hear. They could do an out of stock analysis, trying to pinpoint the demand and supply bottleneck, and work to avoid the same problem when they do their next free shipping event, which would also reduce potential lost sales (yes, the OP or any customer has the option to buy from someone else who has stock).

Simon

[Downwindtracker2]

You are dealing with a Canadian company. Customer relations are different in Canada as the president of Home Depot Canada explained "In the States, American customers who feel wronged will rant and rave and shout, but they will be back again next week. The polite Canadian won't say anything but he will never cross your door again and will tell ten of his friends about his bad experience. " Home Depot moved into the Canadian market and had to learn.

[Handplanesandmore]

You are dealing with a Canadian company. Customer relations are different in Canada as the president of Home Depot Canada explained "In the States, American customers who feel wronged will rant and rave and shout, but they will be back again next week. The polite Canadian won't say anything but he will never cross your door again and will tell ten of his friends about his bad experience. " Home Depot moved into the Canadian market and had to learn.

What does this HD Canada's learning have anything to do with the OP's post sharing his out of stock experience?




The OP was not telling people to stop shopping at Lee Valley (was he?); he was asking if others encountered the same thing. In fact, if not for his post, people who read this thread but have never dealt with Lee Valley before might not know about its exemplary customer service that we all admire.

Simon

[AHill]

It depends on the item. Some of their suppliers are literally one or two-man shops, so it's not uncommon to see things from those suppliers out of stock. For example, Bridge City, Czech Edge, Wenzloff and Sons, Bad Axe Saws, and some others. Lie-Nielsen is notorious for not having items in stock when you order. It's not like specialty items like these are cranked out in the 100's that would support having large inventory to handle surge demand (e.g. free shipping periods). Personally, I'm willing to wait for stock or put something on backorder from LV or LN, because I know they'll stand behind their products and I'm getting quality merchandise.

BTW, I went online as I was writing this, and only 1 of the 6 CBN wheels they sell was on backorder, expected back in stock on May 8, and one other was simply in limited quantities. If you're referring to the Miter-Saw Setting Guide, it's in stock. I've no idea what your third item is, since you only identified two.

[AHill]

Never meant to slam them. I have always had good service and quality from them. Will go back again. Just found it very strange that all 3 of the items I wanted were not in stock.

Glad you posted this comment, because in your original post, the statement "I will take my business elsewhere" could be interpreted as you won't ever shop there again.

[Cian]

Glad you posted this comment, because in your original post, the statement "I will take my business elsewhere" could be interpreted as you won't ever shop there again.

What he said.